Xbox360 vs Wii vs PS3

FIRST. I'm looking for an intelligent debate! (I know, why start here?)

I already own PS2 and a few games. I do not play it any longer (except with my son). My soon-to-be 6 yr old does. NOTHING violent. Only kids games. He plays my ATV and racing games once in a blue moon (and me, even less than that)

It will be a BDAY gift for him end of this month.

I am leaning heavily towwards the WII right now due to its much more kid friendly, and physically interactive games. Anyone agree or disagree, speak now. Hence my post.

I'm a little out of the loop (last game purchase was Gran Turismo 4 for PS2) 99% will be for him.

XBOX360 and PS3. More expensive and not as kid friendly. I do NOT care about Blu Ray at all. My DVD collection totals maybe 10 movies, NONE of which have been viewed recently.

Am I on the right track??

Opinions please........

MGJ

In terms of Kid Freindly games for that age group, I would say hands down get a Wii.

The 360 and PS3 are basically selling to 18-35ish gamers. They want the more mature games and also High Def games & of course the bonus of Blue Ray or HDDVD.

Now the kicker.... good luck finding a Wii in a store. Nintendo underestimated the demand for the Wii HUGE!!! From what I gather they are meeting the production numbers but it does not meet the demand. Oh and I am looking for a Wii for the Wife and Son. They really want one. I like my 360.

I have a 360 & Wii. My 360 is modded to play copied games and I don't even play it. I buy original games for the Wii - The wii totally took over in our house. My 4 year old daughter and wifes 80 year old grandmother both love playing Wii Tennis. We play on a 42" HD TV - ok, it might not output HD etc. But the picture is pretty damn good in my opinion and the game play is amazing.

You get into the games way more with the different forms of interaction the Wiimote gives you over a normal 360 type game. I definitely recommend the Wii if you can get hold of one, they are still hard to come by in these parts.

I love my 360. Of course I'm in that 18-35 bracket, being 25. And I play more of the first person shooter, run around kill people games such as Crackdown, Ghost Recon, Halo, and Call of Duty. Also alot of racing games as well. But for the kids, I'd definitely say go with the Wii. They are much more kid friendly plus the fact that you're not concerned with DVD's and of course the price being much lower than the others. But as stated, they're hard to find in some areas so if you want to go for that then start looking.

The thing that makes the 360 for me are the online features - and the arcade. Love the arcade games.

Having said that, I also own a Wii - the Wii is very fun - great for party games.

Both of them are still cheaper than a PS3

I'm with PoorBoy on this one. I'm 23 and ALL I play on my 360 are violent shooter games and racing games, that's all.

For a kid a Wii is going to be a better choice.

I do love my 360, however.

I add the same.

I love my 360 for the kill um all online play

But the wii would be better for my sone and he currently has a gamecube. Nintendo is more kid friendly.

I am 23 and I really enjoy my wii. A buddy of mine is the same age and owns all 3 systems but claims to play the wii the most of the 3. If you can get ahold of one, go with the Wii. He will love it but if you let yourself, you will as well. To find one, try stores that arent within a big mall or shopping complex.

For a kid, what about a PSP? You can put music and movies on a memory card. Between that and the games, he'll have plenty to keep him occupied on long drives.

Well than, Wii it is! (But no good racin games for me eh? ohwell)

Thanks to everyone that replied.... Now, to find one. Had no idea they were STILL in demand like that, crazy! Welp, I'll go on the hunt for the next few days.....

I like the "whole family" aspect everyone mentions too.... as a large family (cousins etc) with lots of smiliar aged children, I do beleive this will be a big hit.

Thanks gang! I'll let ya know what I find.

MGJ

Just read it's backwards compatible to GameCube?? ALL gamecube games, or most??

PS - I found one, the full bundle only.... gonna try and squeak out for lunch.. He really can't hold it though..... TRYING! (not bad huh?)

MGJ

It will play all of the gamecube games, it has slots for the controllors and memory cards for the Cube, you can't use the Wii remote for the gamecube games

I would get a Wii for a little kid, just for the Mario games alone, and the system comes with a game, Wii sports, right out of the box.
Play Wii tennis or baseball for an hour, see how much you sweat.....

http://wiitracker.com/

check out the store availability history for clues as to which ones to watch.

The Costco Wii bundles were all over the place here in SoCal this weekend... I was in the Azusa, Montebello, and City of Industry Costco looking for that Samsonite 3-piece luggage set and couldn't find any... They did have the Wii bundles at all three locations though... Go figure...

- Air B

Update: We ended up ordering the device thru Wallymart, one of those way too big bundles, but, we are a gaming family so we went for it.

I took down the Almighty PS2 tonite... wasnt a happy moment for me, but I got over it real fast.

This thing is sooo cool! My son didnt want to go to bed though, so we had to set some groundrules right off the bat.....

Then he went to bed, and about an hour later the wife wanders down to see this thing for herself.
We tried bowling (she killed me) Tennis, (she killed me) and golf (tie......ok she killed me)

I tried playing "dumb" hoping to bet some sexual favors for wins, but she'd have no part of that, so tomorrow, I kick her ass..... thats what I get for being nice....

MGJ

As anticipated, Sony announces $100 price cut for PS3.

Wonder if that'll start sparking sales?

LOL - They are expecting sales to Double. Not diffitult to sell another 1 I guess!

Sorry Sony, you are losing customers fast, myself included.. $100 aint enough, that still puts them at , what, $500?

Puuleez.

MGJ

Very seriously, and this isn't just because I have one, but the PS3 is very quickly becoming an EXCELLENT media center for the home entertainment system. It's capabilities for media streaming in the home network makes it extremely good for more than just video games.

Sony is in a losing war here...they just lost 2 Billion (thats a B folks) in the last year in their gaming division and this price cut doesn't help...they are going to go the way of Sega VERY soon...I don't believe there will be a PS4....

Oh...and Tuesday night 7/10?? Look for Microsoft to announce a $100 price cut on the 360...Bye-bye Sony...

You know what's really sad from the Xbox crowd? They'll sit there and blast the "poor" sales of the PS3. But when you overlay the sales charts of the Xbox 360 over the PS3, you'll see that their sales are nearly IDENTICAL for the first 36 weeks of sales. Yep, that's right. The PS3, costing several hundred dollars more, is selling at the same pace as the Xbox 360 did.

Sure, there are more X's out there, at this point. But if you don't think Microsoft's admittance they've got a serious hardware problem with the X's isn't going to hurt their future sales, you're out of your mind.

Here, check out some actul sales charts, before you spout off about how "poor" the PS3 is selling...

World Console sales graph.

Gotta love Porsche and the rest of the PS3ers still standing behind their failing system. When we argued this before the systems even came out, you would have died laughing if I said the Xbox and PS3 sales would be close to identical based on the same amount of release period. The success of the PS2, Japan, all the PS1/PS2 games, blueray, etc. Now, it sounds like you're happy with the results, or at least fine with them. Then, you try to turn the other way on the 360 being released earlier like that doesn't count. Well, I'm sorry, but that's life. Sounds like a good business decision if you ask me. And like I said several times... if blueray wins, count your blessings. If it doesn't, then big time (Yes, I realize you can breathe a little better these days, but not that much.) We 360 owners weren't forced to choose one or the other. :p

What's funny is that the 360 won't be the one to bring the PS3 down like we all thought was their main competition. The Wii is the sleeper in this whole thing.

I agree - Nintendo made Sony look like fools. My 360 sits unused as I play my Wii, the only reason I would buy a PS3 is if Blue Ray comes out as a clear winner in the war for High Def DVDs and that looks like it is happening. Unless of course they can actually put together a Blue Ray DVD player for under $300 anytime soon.

As a Wii / 360 owner I have nothing against the PS3. I own a PS2 and was looking forward to the PS3 launch, they just took to damn long to launch it so I got the 360 instead. I'd take a PS3 any day at around $300, but certainly not for $500 / $600

Nintendo made Sony AND Microsoft look like fools... They've almost reached total volume sales that the Xbox 360 has, in less than half the time!

Hey Porsche......

HALO 3!!!!!! MoFo!!!!!!!!

Tim

Who gives a shiite...

I've never been a fan of 1st person shooters on a console...

Come to think of it, don't really play 1st person shooters in general.

So whoopeedeedoo...

I'm a PC FPS player. Point and click. I can't stand the controls for FPS' on consoles.

I find it rather odd that people are defending the evil empire that is Microsoft.

Competition is a good thing for all the consumers. If X-Box and the PS3 stay viable then that would be better for all of us.

Yeah the only reason I never considered a PS3 was due to the price. Wii was along ways out and the 360 would work with my Xbox games (most of em at least).

$100 off... no thanks.

Even though the Wii doesn't have dvd capabilities, I feel like it's the superior system. Being able to interact with the games is far more interesting to me than having graphics that are sharper.

The game I'll be anxious to see is Metroid.

I just think it's too early to say which console will still be around in 3 years, heavily. I think it's pretty clear all 3 will be, though. The games are what's going to make the difference; always is.

Right now, the Wii is kicking arse, but once the games really start cranking out, I think the better graphics of the Xbox and the PS will kick start their sales a lot. Kind of how the PS2 and the Xbox kicked the snot out of the Cube. Just the Wii's sales took everybody by surprise; but it's just a gimmick. Looking at their weekly sales tracking, the Wii has dropped to the same sales rate as the other two, and is in a huge down-spiral. They got their initials out, but now the other big 2 are going to take over.

You make a good point. Once the software catches up to the hardware, we might see a shift away from the Wii. I've been disappointed that it's taken Halo3 and GTAIV so long to come out, but maybe that shows it's taking a while for the software to catch up. Hell, NCAA Football was incomplete last year and still might not be 100% complete this year (but at least they finally added Jones Stadium ). This Christmas should tell us whether or not the Wii is the real deal or not.

I truely believe that Nintendo are stalling on Wii production on purpose so they can flood the market at Christmas this year and take the honors for the hot Christmas gift for the 2nd year straight. They are still very difficult to find in stores and sell out immediately when the stores around here get any stock. I think the sales figures for the Wii are engineered by Nintendo right now.

Imo all 3 systems are severely lacking a good library of games. I have more fun with Wii's Virtual Console and Wii Sports than anything on the shelves at this point.

X2 Merle.... our Wii deal came with Zelda, havent even opened it yet. tried Mario Party, but the damn thing only see's ONE controller no matter what I do to the others....

Otherwise, ever kid in the neighborhood has a Mii on our console, and they've been there everyday since he got it.... They've all gotten quite good at it too.....

My favorite is Tennis and Boxing, but man, you really can work up a sweat, especially boxing...

MGJ

Hey MGJ... Zelda's a fine game!

If you're looking for another game that's innovative and kid friendly check out:

Elebits - Very very kid friendly! I think it has a battle mode and it utilizes the remote in very interesting ways. Opening simple things like doors and cabinets are such a blast! I wouldn't buy it because it's a very short game but it's so worth renting!!

I must say that from my experience from the Wii:

The graphics are painfully bad. I'm not saying that they were going for graphics, but come on, I'm not sure they even got to PS2 standards.

Zelda was a terrible game compared to games like Resistance or even Halo *gasp*. If you are going to interact with a game, the actions should match, at least a little, what the controller does.

I dunno, personally, I thought the Wii was a piece of crap.

Wow, about the only person I know who's had that reaction after playing one. The Wii isn't supposed to be about amazing 3d graphics, it's about the interaction with the games you get with the Wiimote in my opinion. I can get more enjoyment out of a game of Wii Bowling than I ever could out of Lamo 3. Can't really see what the fuss is about with Halo myself - I thought 1 and 2 were utter crap. Gears of War or COD3 on the 360 are way more appealing as FPS to me.

I will admit that tennis was fun.

I guess I've only played the first Halo, but it was fun to play. I don't have access to Xbox any more, but I never got to play many games on xbox or 360's. The one time I got to play a 360, it crapped out on us in the middle of the game. That's why I won't buy a 360. I also like God of War and Prince of Persia. I guess those are more Zelda like games.

Fortunately, great gameplay has nothing to do with graphics. Hell, I can still pull my old Atari 2600 out and enjoy an hour or three of Yar's Revenge...

If you have to have "good graphics" to enjoy a game, yours must be a narrow world indeed

Ahh...

I can remember the good 'ol days when playing video games meant driving a car you'd never be able to afford, or playing on a pro football team, or all sorts of things you can't do in real life.

And I can remember when you wanted to go BOWLING or play TENNIS, you got your fat ass out of the living room and just went and did it...

You get alot more exercise playing Wii games than you do sitting motionless bug eyed staring at the screen playing Gaylo3

WOW! This took off didnt it???

I WAS IN THE PS2 CAMP, hoping and praying PS3 would kill XBOX360 and Wii........... I had high hopes for it. As a UTILITY based MULTIMEDIA MACHINE, great job, as a gaming machine, waaay overpriced. Regardless of ALL the things it does, it is competing with Nintendo and Microshaft. No matter what the device does extra....... it has GAMES.

Now, the Wii's graphics stink, no question... but its strong points are the interactivity of the device... The controller inputs are not flawless, but way way better than I thought we would have gotten.

I am in the WII camp right now.. havent even hooked up the classic controller, and havent even gone online yet, (*frankly no reason from what I've read, other than to let your Mii wander the network??? (NAH!))

MGJ

As soon as somebody makes a game for the PS3 that takes advantage of its motion controllers (other than in a gimmicky fashion), you can forget about the Wii... I honestly don't know why no company has put out some crappy bowling or tennis game for the PS3, considering how well they seem to be doing on the Wii.

Heck, most people don't even know the PS3 controllers are motion sensitive...

You get even more if you just go to a bowling alley or a tennis court...

MGJ... using Wii Connect 24 has its advantages.

1. Wii Weather
2. Wii News 24
3. Virtual Console

Oh and for everyone who's posting which system is the best (myself included ) this one goes out to you



"Kiss my ass! I hate you all!!!" - Silky Johnson the Player Hater of the Year 2005.

What's "virtual console"?

Merle, 5 truckies for using "virtual console" in a reply... ahahah

Anyway.
1. Wii Weather (I have TV for that)
2. Wii News 24 (I have TV for that)
3. Virtual Console (not worth re-running my nic cable again)

You forget...
4. Letting our collective "Mii's" wander from machine to machine...... but really, I dont want the Wii on the 'net just yet....

MGJ

Not analogous at all.

The Wii controller has an IR sensor so the Wii actually knows "where" the controller is, not just what direction it's moving in.

Sony's last-minute pathetic attempt to mimic the Wii isn't comparable in the least.

Here's a thought, instead of talking out your ass go visit a friend with a Wii - the differences will become quite obvious.

check the playstation store. They have a video of a bowling game that is going to come out. They announced it at E3.

When it comes to which one of the three systems will get my hard earned scratch, there's only one definite right now:

Wii will NOT be getting my money

I see all that the PS3 has to offer as far as being a next gen gaming device AND a blue ray player, so it has to go into the lead right now, but even $500 is too much money after you get it fully loaded up with a couple games and cables.

The Xbox360 has the better library right now, but being a PS2 owner, I'm just more used to those controllers. And no blueray player is a strike against it.

So there's where I stand right now. The only thing I know for sure is that I don't want to buy some kiddie game machine with graphics from 1998 and goofy controllers. I love good old fashioned American games. First person shooters, Grant Theft Auto, Madden football. NONE of those will ever be done well by the Wii, just thanks to Nintendo's graphic retardation alone. I am glad it's out there though, just so all the kiddies can go play their system and leave the PS3 and Xbox360 for adults. Less punk ass kids to deal with online.

Nice - $70 for a bowling game that they give away with the Wii!

Wow. Used to be the rave over Pacman, then Ms. Pacman, then fastforward to Doom, then to WoW & others... And now it's freaking Bowling.

Welcome to the 1970s... Woohoo!

Who would have thought the "Next Generation" of gaming consoles in 2007 would actually be debated on their merits of a f*ing bowling game... Tell that to the Big 3 console makers in the late 90s, and they'd laugh their collective asses off.

Hey, do you get your own "Rubber Man" fake hand to bowl with? Maybe a clear bowling ball with a rose in the middle, too??

it is probably going to be $8 tops smart ass.

From what I have seen, games that sell for $50 on the Wii (i.e. Wario) sell for 8 on the PS3. (i.e. Calling All Cars or Super Stardust HD.)

I can't wait for this game to come out. The black Audi looks fucking incredible in this video. (warning: large video 41MB+)

Not trying to steal your thunder because Gran Turismo is a very solid franchise, but I read yesterday that a new Mario Kart for Wii is going to be released with a steering wheel.

Will you have to sit with your knees in your chest like they do in the game in order to use the steering wheel properly?

I spend my whole day driving around in a realistic looking / handling car, why would I want to come home and play a video game which just simulates the same thing!

The only thing that Forza 2 & Grand Tourismo have going for them is the realism. I got bored of Forza 2 on the 360 after about an hour of game play. My favorite racing game involves more driving skill - Collin McRea WRX. Any idiot can drive a street car - Rallying is where it takes some skill to get around the course.

I see where you're coming from Rinky.

The reason I like Mario Kart so much is for the battle modes.

Is it the same little wheel that they sell on the shelves? if so: Yay! a 4 dollar piece of plastic! what a steal!

In other news: I'm going to be in your home town this weekend and half of next week, Blu.

Umm... Guess it's been a long time since you've not had Xbox shoved up your ass... Grand Turismo has had rally car racing as a part of it for the last 2 versions... Oops...

U call GT2,3,and 4 "Rally" sections GOOD???? Ohcomon! Dude, I am THE GT fan.... custom built my own hybrids and everything! Hell, we had parties JUST for GT, 6 ft subs, beer u name it, but NONE of us even GLANCED at the RALLY section... the cars? Yes! The tracks? Sad! Took no skill, wasnt even REMOTELY realistic....

MGJ

Hey Cruzinfrontier, what brings you to the Lowcountry? Are you going there for vacation?

My X stands out because I have a "Got Aussies?" silhouette sticker on my back window. Be sure to honk if ya see me.

Never paid attention to the fact you live in Bluffton there, Blu.. Right down the road in Mount P. here..

yup, a vacation. playing golf and hanging at the beach. why must I go to places that are humid?

I just bought a Wii for our house. We have a 6 and 4 year old, and I had an original X Box that this replaced. My son has had a gamecube for over a year, and is already playing me well in baseball and other games. Next year I bet he is torching me.

So far this Will has been a lot of fun. Its really fun using the controllers like you have to for some of the games. Wii Sports - my kids (and the parents) love this game. The baseball - my 6 year old just finishing his second year of T ball, standing there holding the wiimote like a bat, and swinging like he would in tball.

No shooting games or anything like that, just the mario type stuff and SSX snowboarding, and Brain quest or whatever its called.

I read through this and lots of other stuff, and think we made the best choice for this house.

-Donor

great article with a good perspective on the Wii

It also helps explain why it's so successful, and why "real" gamers have such a hard time dealing with/understanding it's success.

Oh - I get why it's a success. It's cheaper than a couple nights out on the town, it works well on a group level and it's Nintendo - so kids will eat it up.

I get it.....I'm just not going to get it. I don't even think it should be compared to Xbox360 and PS3 because it's not next-gen. You can't keep go a step backwards in the graphics department and call it an advancement in gaming.

Right about the time people will have flailed their arms about playing every limited kind of game you can play by flailing your arms all over the place - the real next gen systems will be hitting their stride. Basically, Wii = the next Gamecube. But I don't say that as a knock. It will always have a niche market all to itself.

Yup, some niche - they are selling every single one they can make 7 months after Christmas.

I'll bet Sony would love to be in that niche....

+1 for Sony this month.

That doesn't mean I've abandoned my wii by any means... damn that doesn't sound right.

I just don't forsee many good games ahead for Nintendo, and Sony has a few coming up that I really want like GTA4 and Metal Gear Solid 4. It also helped that they brought it temporarily down by $100 and I had Best Buy rewards coupons that I had to redeem asap. They helped majorly!

Both consoles will do just fine.

Its kind of sad that the PS3 is matching the Xbox and it doesn't have any really good games out yet. XBox's 33% failure rate can't be a good thing but I'm sure they'll let the public keep beta testing it for them and work it out eventually.

Hopefully they'll stick around and be a viable option to keep Sony honest.

I'm using my ps3 as a media center. I uploaded all my MP3s on my iPod up to it and now I just play music straight from my ps3 instead of hooking up my iPod. The sound quality is solid probably because of the fiber hook up coming from my ps3. I'm also using it as a DVD and BR player. BR kicks ass and now that the local blockbuster is carrying BR movies I look there prior to the normal dvds when renting movies. (can't wait to see 300 on BR)

The last thing I use it for is playing games but it does that well enough. I'm enjoying Motorstorm so far. I'm looking forward to Warkhawk due out soon as well as some of the other big titles coming out soon. There is a new controller coming out so that you can play games like Time Crisis and House of the Dead with a "gun". No word on if it is going to be cordless or not but that is the assumption. It is supposed to work similarly to the wiimote. I imagine if they can adapt that control style then the wii would have nothing left to offer.

Wow, that's a lot of effort!! I was planning on doing that, then when the 1.8 upgrade came out, I didn't have to, now that it streams MP3's directly from the home network. Figure there's no reason for me to store my music on the home computer AND the PS3, so that frees the PS3 up for whatever downloading needs arise in the future.

I'm like you, though. Gaming is probably the least of what I use my PS3 for. Don't get me wrong, I play video games on it, but until more great titles come out, that's not its biggest draw for me. I got NCAA Football, now, though, so that'll start sucking the life out of me once I get some hours reduced at work!! Motostorm is a freaking awesome game, though. Dolby Digital surround sound for video games ought to be mandatory!!

It wasn't that bad, just copied the folders the mp3s were in straight from my ipod. Didn't take long at all to copy them. If I decide I need the room I can always delete them.

Um, the 360 was released a year earlier. Most of the buyers already got it within that period. Comparing the current rate is completely missing the big picture. I guess what ever makes you feel better about your own failing system. It is kind of sad that the PS3, who used to dominate (that might be a small word) the market, can't pass the other two. You 5 XOC members go have fun now.

A year head start is the only thing keeping M$ in the game.

M$ rushed to get the system out and their poor design is the result. Games can make the system but you can't play if the system is broken. Xbox has some good titles and that will help keep the playing field even which I'm all for. Like I said the better M$ is the better Sony will have to be to stay ahead.

Enjoy the red ring when it comes.

Yeah, that year head start really did wonders for the Dreamcast, didn't it?

BTW, we all have a 3 year warranty now. What could possibly be wrong with that?

The month or two waiting for it to come back?

It's usually a couple of weeks or so, according to what I read on other forums - inconvenient, but not fatal.

Me, I just bought mine from costco. My first Xbox didn't get the ring of death, but was locking up. Took it back, returned it, then turned around and used the costco cash card they gave me to re-purchase a new one.

Less than an hour. You just have to buy your stuff from the right retailer and you won't have problems :rolleyes:

The worst part of the process was moving my saved games off the hard drive onto a memory card before swapping the consoles. That's one advantage of the MS swap process, you keep your HD.

Try one week, according to my bro-in-law. Like DocNo said, it's a minor inconvenience, but it's for extended warranty. I wish my Xterra had that. I'd gladly let Nissan take it for a week and fix it up like new.

It's matching Xbox 360 sales from it's release; it's outselling the Xbox 360, currently.

In other words, they both sold the same # of consoles in the same amount of time. Games are what sell consoles; always have been. So once the christmas onslaught of games come this year, we'll see really quickly what game console makes huge gains, and which one just merely floats along.

My friend that bought one of the first gen 360s had his hard drive completely die. MS wouldn't cover it at all and made him pay several hundred to have it replaced.

They didnt make him pay per se', HD is client issue. Number one failure of HD is heat, how do they know where the device was? Maybe he left it on 24 hrs a day? Not arguing,, just saying, HD failures happen, if they did'nt, I'd be out of work.



MGJ

a) The hard drive is external b) a new Xbox 360 itself costs "several hundred". c) Microsoft charges a flat fee of $140 to replace anything wrong with the console. d) A new hard drive for the 360 "retails" for $100 and goes for a lot less on eBay. Don't lie and make The Woodlands look bad.

More problems for Sony

Ouch! Although I do thing the blog writers conclusions are a little on the extreme side, it's a pretty harsh vote of no confidence from a pretty important developer.

You do realize that it is nearly a year after release, and Wiis are still hard to find...

I am holding off on buying anything until Rock Band or Guitar Hero III is released... then I will likely buy a Wii...

until then I am happy playing NCAA 2005 College Football on my old Xbox...

Ha nismo I just saw your response to what I said. I was just repeating what he had told me. I cant wait till the guitar hero is out on the wii. I will buy that so fast

I'm planning on getting the 360 when Halo 3 comes out.

Like others have said, the games make the consoles sell, which in my case, is entirely true.

As it is, my Old School Xbox does jsut fine as my DVD player, which is what I use it for more then gaming, and although I plan to play the 360 more, it will likely replace the old box as a DVD player.

Let me revise that... Tell your friend to not lie and make The Woodlands (if that's where he lives) look bad.

Hard to find is an understatement in my area. From what I've been told, the few that come along are nabbed up by 8:30 am everytime they hit store shelves.

So is Guitar Hero everyone's game to own? I've heard it's a lot of fun, but I'm holding out for SSB Brawl in December. Right now Mario Strikers is keeping me occupied.

Still sucks to be Sony

I've got a 360 back home, and I love it. I bought my Wii out here in the sandbox, and love that thing too. It is def going back with me and sittin next to my 360.

Umm, might want to revise that to say, "Still Sucks to be Sony AND Microsoft"... The Wii being the number 1 console in the world, outselling the Xbox 360 total sales, in less than half the time, is pretty damned impressive!

Guess we all (PS3 AND 360 fans) guessed wrong on this one.

Wii has the gimick of the motion controllers. That is why it is outselling everything right now. I played one this last week and while the gimick was fun bowling, and playing tennis etc it wasn't nothing to write home about with the graphics.

The wii doesn't appeal to me. It is just a repackaged gamecube with a new controller.

Don't let Wii sports be your sole measurement of Wii's graphics ability. Try Metroid Prime 3 if you get a chance. That's the flagship title at the moment and it's pretty cool.

As for why Wii's number one? $250 sticker. enough said.

Meh - at least MS broke even (so they claim). I didn't expect MS to take number 1 - but I certainly didn't expect Sony to remain number three - and by such a wide margin! I guess hubris really doesn't pay after all.

Nintendo kept it simple and followed their roots. They are not so gently reminding Sony and Microsoft that ultimately the majority of people play games - for the games and not the technical wizardry. We geeks tend to get hung up on crap like "it's just a warmed over game cube" (it's not) or "that controller is a gimmick" (it's not that either) but they are missing the point.

It's about the game play.

The Wii brings unique, fun and engaging game play to the table. And there are titles like Brain Age and the Wii sports that offer totally different experiences that are accessible to normal people other than shooting things and watching them blow up.

Heck, they are holding Wii bowling tournaments in nursing homes! Hand a six axis controller with a normal games button layout to a nursing home resident and they would probably throw it back at you. Hand them a Wii-mote and show them how to bowl with it, and they get it - because it mimics a natural action they already understand.

That's some exciting stuff. I hate memorizing button layout's and combo moves. I will force myself if the game is particularly good and I like it enough - but I like the idea of not having to use buttons that represent real world actions - when instead I could just mimic that real world action.

It will be interesting to see where the success of the Wii starts to drive the game industry. Perhaps it will finally encourage more people to think outside the box and move beyond the now plethora of brain-dead first person shooters...

Probably to where all the mid-90's movies took us and that's virtual reality. Just my guess.

Looks like Sony is gonna be dropping the price of the PS3 to $400 at the end of this month.

The new 40gig unit won't be backwards compatible and will only have two USB ports instead of 4, but I couldn't care leass about either since I have a PS2 and the only game I would really want to carry forward is Guitar Hero 1 & 2, which won't play on PS3s anyway.

I'm seriously thinking of taking the plunge this holiday season. I really want in on those online Warhawk battles!!!

Yeah, they could have dropped the backwards compatibility. I wouldn't think there'd be a huge demand for that, especially now that at lot of Gen3 games are on the market. Same w/ the USB ports. I use 1 for recharging the controllers, and 1 for the wireless adapter for the keyboard. The other two are pretty much useless.

You're funny... PS3 is selling at the same rate the Xbox360 did. Yeah, they've got a gap because they came out after the 360. But their numbers are just as good (or bad, depending on how you look at it) as the 360's did at its same age. Not to mention, now that Halo 3 has come, there's not going to be another big bump in 360 sales for a long, long time. PS3 still yet has it's big franchise games to come out.

Are you guys playing Warhawk? If so, how do you like it?? I still play Socom 3 on my PS2 and love online FPS so I'm pretty curious about this title.

You mean the once controlled and dominated market from Sony is selling close to the same rate as what the Xbox has (pre-Halo3)? Looking at the lastest figures, the PS3 is in 3rd which makes it dead last. So much for that Sony dominance. BTW, in case you haven't noticed, the Halo3 release helped the 360 reclaim #1 overall.

Sony doesn't have a "franchise" title close to Halo3 so I don't know what you're getting at there. Sony's only hope is if Bluray claims the title right now. From the looks of things, we may never have a winner which will all but seal the deal on their 3rd place finish. And once again, the "gap" is Sony's fault. The Wii was in the same boat, but they don't seem to be having any problems. The PS2 didn't have any problems with the Dreamcast which was released a year before it.

Quote:

Not to mention, now that Halo 3 has come, there's not going to be another big bump in 360 sales for a long, long time. PS3 still yet has it's big franchise games to come out.

Don't forget, Microsoft has rights to one of the all-time greatest series - IV

really...

So you're telling me there's somebody out there that owns a PS2 and DIDN'T buy a copy of Gran Turismo? There can't be that many of them...

As to GTA IV... It's not an Xbox exclusive. PS3 will have it as well, so I didn't want to mention it, 'cause it's not exclusive to any console.

The Gran Turismo series won't hold a candle to what Halo 3 just did... and I liked playing GT, but I think that sort of game got played out. It's just not in the same league. Even you have to admit that. And yes, GTA will be on both consoles, but it will be on the 360 first. Haven't heard how long until it shows up on the PS3. If it's like what it was with the Xbox, you're looking at 6 months.

Sony's looking to drop the price and introduce a new player to the game it seems. A 40 G version for $399 is rumored to be on the way. The big titles coming out and a price drop are going to make this holiday season and next year very interesting as far as the "console war" goes. If Sony doesn't make significant headway by the end of next year then I'd say MS would be this gen's winner.

Sony is still the best bang for the buck as far as the next gen systems go. It would cost you hundreds more to get the same functionality out of a 360 and all you would have then is an over priced POS system halfway through it's shelf life.

Developers are having to dumb down their games to fit on DV9 and not all the 360s have a built in hard drive which just compounds the first mistake.

7 pages of argueing about video game systems. :rolleyes: Does anyone have all 3 systems? That's the only way I can see anyone having the right to say which is better. I have a 360, I like it. I only bought it because I think the PS3 is overpriced and I wanted to try Halo but, I'm about to hang a Microsoft flag by the front door of my house or anything.

Funniest thing I've read in this thread so far.

Might want to check with Ian. I remember he had the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube. Wonder if he has all three of these. I've only played my 360 and my bro-in-laws PS3. I don't have any experience with Wii and really don't want to since it's not a current generation of gaming.

2 out of 3 here... PS3 and Wii.

I bought Wii for the classics like Mario, Zelda, etc.. the titles I grew up with in the 80's. I bought PS3 for games like Metal Gear 4 and GTA 4. Why no 360? Just never felt compelled to purchase it I guess.

I have 2 out of 3. Wii & Xbox 360, the Wii gets way more play time than the 360. Until I get PGR4 & COD4 at least.

If they dropped the PS3 to around $350 / $400 I'd probably snap one up.

According to yesterday's Washington Post the PS3's 40 gig model is set to re-release on November 11th for $349. I think they're stripping a couple of features like backwards compatability and a couple of USB ports in order to lower the retail price.

PS3 + GTA4 = Ownage

That is about the only game out there for the PS3 that I would want.

The PS3 is equaling sales of the 360 worldwide... However in the US it is severely lagging behind. The reason this is important, is because the US market drives the vast majority of games available to us here. Halo 3 no doubt gave the 360 a nice boost, and it should continue into the holiday season.

If the PS3 does not outsell the 360 this holiday (in the US), it will all be over but the crying. This holiday season is Sony's chance, and they know it, hence the new model and price.

I wonder if MS will follow up with yet another drop. They've got quite a bit of room in their margins yet to be able to handle another cut.

Price wars are good. I think both consoles came out overpriced for something that you still are buying $60 games for. Wii had a novel approach and a reasonable price point, both of which are why it's been so successful.

I would have a Wii for myself...

If I didn't keep reselling them for $350 each on Craigslist for the last year or so...



I've gone through at least 15 Wiis since last November... I keep telling myself that I'll keep one once I can no longer sell them... but supply continues to be low and demand remains high.

The big name games are available at Costco for $50 for 360. Just an FYI

http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/mgs4/en/

For all the things the PS3 does, you know I'm right. Just do the math and come back and tell me what the better deal is for the consumer.

BluRay
wifi
wireless sixaxis controllers
multimedia (photos, mp3, videos)
Memory card readers
built-in hard drive
HDMI 1.3
etc

Match that and come back with a price list.

At $400, I think it's a great price for what it does.

Just splitting up the two main uses into equal parts means I'd be getting a true next generation game system (not one called "next generation" because you flail your arms instead of using a controller) and a next generation DVD player.

$200 for a Blueray player and $200 for a true next gen gaming system is alright by me!

Watching regular DVD quality movies on an HDTV should be a crime. Actually, let me put it this way - the show Two and a Half Men should not provide better picture quality than the movie 300.

How many of those are actual reasons to buy one?

BluRay - Yes.
And that's it for reasons other than it being a gaming console.

WiFi? Wii and 360 have it.
SixAxis? Complete shit. Nintendo got rumble and audio into their controller along with their six degrees of movement, and pointing, Sony still hasn't got it right.
Multimedia? I stream that on my 360, or just plug it right into my TV.
Memory Card Reader? For what?

The $400 price point for the PS3 will finally make people consider buying it, but not for any of the reasons you have listed other than the Blu-Ray player.

On to Nismos post. Nope, I currently only have a 360. I would have a Wii but Mineralblue keeps fucking buying all of them.

The Wii is a gamers console, much the way the 360 is at it's core. First party Nintendo titles are pure entertainment regardless of them being 480p. It's like fucking a decent looking girl who isn't an uptight bitch. She isn't a super model, but she also doesn't complain all the time and not put out with her red ring of death.

The PS3 matches the 360 technology-wise when it comes to what a gamer wants, lots of horsepower and beautiful output, but there hasn't been a game I have been even remotely interested in since it launched last year. Developers fucking hate the thing citing it to be extremely difficult and time consuming to develop for, and the last two must have games for it have been total failures.

On the bright side, I did just barter a Wii and a PS3 in trade for some work, so I will have all three to play here soon.
As a gamer I look forward to enjoying each of them equally for what they offer me, the same way I did with the Dreamcast, Cube, N64, PS1, PS2, all my Gameboys and my DS.

So buy it for the 360. It will look the same or better, and have more value added content and achievements.

Best comments in the entire thread!

Well, everything that Ian said, but I'll add one more. He said yes to the bluray. I say ONLY if it wins over HDDVD. Otherwise, you're stuck with an overpriced laser disk player. The 360 has everything else you listed, and does some things better. I don't guess you know very much about the 360, just a loyal PS follower which is fine. Just make sure you have your facts straight. With Sony, you're ALWAYS buying the name, that's what was so funny when I read your post. Remember how much more the Xbox had over the PS2, yet the PS2 was priced higher? The PS3's bad wrap is how much it costs. Again, Sony is NEVER more bang for your buck.

Well isn't the Wii kind of a one trick pony anyway?

I mean, it's probably fun as hell at a get together - kinda like Guitar Hero, but I just don't imagine myself being into all those kiddie games for very long.

I saw the Wii's version of baseball and it was ridiculous. It's a bunch of major leaguers, only portrayed as kids or bobbleheads or something. How any grown man could play a baseball game like that is beyond me, but hey - whatever floats your boat. Just stay away from the trick or treaters. That's all I ask.

Ok, I found a picture of the game, I guess it's called MLB Power Pro?

Nintendo is for kids. Example-Pokemon?

Xbox vs PS2=PS3 vs 360
There were more gotta have it games for the PS2 than the Xbox but, that seems to have been reversed with the new Sony-Microsoft war.

No, it's not. It's for gamers. Anyone who doesn't agree simply isn't a gamer. Demographics show mostly adults playing the system.

The same thing was said about the Gamecube but the best shooter (Metroid) and horror game (RE4) of 2006 were on the Cube.

Just because a game has simplified graphics doesn't mean it's for kids. That's like saying only kids read the Sunday comics and adults only read the political cartoons in the paper.

The same grown men who played baseball games when they were on 8-bit consoles, and were nothing more than a rectangle with a square head holding a line swinging at a dot.

XOC is split into two groups, much the way the market is. Gamers, and homophobes who think that if anything is cute their friends will think they are a pussy regardless of how good the gaming experience is.

You can all call me a pussy because I'm currently wasting far to many hours playing Puzzle Quest on Xbox Live Arcade. It's cute and has gems and pretty colors, but it's also pure gaming crack.

pussy.

The Wii is fun. Me my wife and son play it quite a bit. The boxing is hilarious!!! My son bought a game and wow.... "My Sims" I just cant get into that one but there has to be more depth to it. Mario Party is fun with everyone playing.

And let me tell you after a few beers with some friends the Wii gets to be a blast!!

Anyone played the Monster 4x4 game for it yet?

LOL.


Just like any game system... there's more than one baseball game for the Wii.

Exhibit A:

The Bigs for the Wii





:p

I find most people who have bad things to say about the Wii simply haven't played one. I could stand there and play Wii Bowling for hours, no way it's a kid game. 289 high score, one day I'll get that perfect game! lol.

Plus Excite Truck is pretty much the best off road truck racing game I've ever played.

I like real bowling, much more realistic, but the beer is more expensive.

I'm an online pc gamer and also spend hours playing Xbox--but whenever I visit my cousin's or best friend's house, I insist on playing their Wii and turn into a selfish brat coz I don't want to share the wiimotes.

Sweet geezus, calm down fog! I'm homophobic because I don't like Wii games? I think that's a little extreme.

Like I said, whatever floats your boat. If you're enjoying playing with your Wii, great.

We could sit here and argue what a "gamer" is, but in the end where will it get us. You aren't changing my mind on the Wii. I've played it and it's great at a party, other than that I'm just not into simplified graphics and games that cater to children (ie: no blood, baseball games where the pros are rendered as 10 year old versions of themselves, etc.)

Come on.... I think we all enjoy playing with our Wii.

I think this thread has run its course. Let it die already.

I kinda disagree. There are still lots of us that haven't jumped into the next gen systems, and things like features and price points for both systems are constantly shifting, especially leading into the 2007 holiday period.

This is a pretty helpful thread for someone like me.

You did add to your comment so I used the term homophobe in the comedy way it's used on XOC. No offense was intended.

Nintendo does have games with violence, and blood. Resident Evil 4 on the Cube last year was about the goriest release of the year (chainsaws to the head). These titles are from 3rd party developers, while Nintendo themselves focus on the "gayer" (if I may) titles which excel at actual gameplay. They can come up with the dumbest fucking concepts and end up with a game one simply can't pull themselves away from.

I would state at this point that for a one console home, unless you have children of single digit age, the Xbox360 is the one to own for the average demographics of XOC (beer drinking, 20-40 year olds).

When adding a second console, the Wii is the best choice as it adds a completely new spectrum of gaming.

The PS3 would be the third console of choice as it only has BluRay going for it, and any release on that platform will most likely show up on the 360 with more features and a far superior controller.

Nintendo has always had a much more lax policy of allowing third parties to develop software for its systems... so of course, there will be a lot of crappy games that you can point to on any Nintendo system...

for every Brain Age or Mario Kart on the DS, I can name 10 really shitty games for the DS...

the Wii is the same... for every juvenile baseball game or bloodless kiddie title you point to on the Wii, there are some fabulous gems out there that are every bit as fun and non-kiddie as you could have...

but that doesn't and shouldn't take away from how fabulous the Wii (or the DS for that matter) is...

I would strongly disagree. For my age group (I'm 29), the PS3 is definately spot on. Just because it's a helluva' lot more than just a gaming machine. It's a full-featured entertainment console (movies, internet, high definition video, music, etc.). Not to mention, I can pipe music from the PS3 over the internet to my PSP, anywhere in the world I have internet connection... Personally, I think that's pretty darn sweet... And I use it A LOT.

360 does virtually the same: movies, high def, music, blah blah blah.

I got the 360 mainly because of Xbox Live. Great gaming experience with great game titles.

I really hope this doesn't open up a whole can of worms, but it is relevant to those of us that are on the fence.

I'm waiting for this price drop to probably pick up a PS3, with bluray being a big factor. Who's winning the format war now? I haven't been following it, but I did notice that Transformers is available on HD-DVD only.

If it's still too soon to tell, I guess I'll still pick up the PS3. Even if bluray loses, since HD-DVD is the less expensive format, it shouldn't cost an arm and a leg to buy in.

No it doesn't.

If you want HD-DVD's, you have to buy yet another adapter.

If you want wireless internet, stream music, etc., it's another adapter.

If you want to play an online game, it's a monthly subscription to "Xbox Live". (Sony online is FREE, by the way...)

If you want to browse the web, you have to hack it; that's not an option Microsoft wants to you have.

Theres an awful lot the Xbox 360 crowd claims the 360 can do. Unfortunately, it's either an "add-on" or a "hack" to do it. The PS3 does all those things RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX. No additional crap required.

So, sure, if you don't want those options, then the a la carte method of the 360 is your thing, 'cause you're not paying for what you won't use.

But personally, I'm on break.com, youtube, etc. on the PS3 quite a bit. Not to mention checking out XOC and a few other sites, all from the comfort of my couch, on a 1080i big screen TV.

And for the real doubters, let me tell 'ya, you haven't surfed porn 'til you've seen it on the big screen... Makes squinting at the 'ol 19" computer monitor a thing of the past... Life size is where it's at...



edited to add: Kevin: blu-Ray is winning the format war, for now. For 2007, Blu-Ray has outsold HD-DVD by better than a 2:1 margin. See here:

http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/10/12/nie...ending-october/

BUT, unfortunately, Paramount is HD-DVD exclusive at this point, so there's a lot of big blockbuster movies (Transformers, King Kong, etc.) that can only be had on HD-DVD at the moment. Most studios are dual, though, so it's not a huge problem. Just iratating.

Out of curiosity, how long did the BETAMAX vs VCR war rage on? I'm asking this because I wonder how much longer HD-DVD and Blu-Ray could go at it.

Honestly I wish one format would win out so I can buy it.

I don't think either is going to win. Upconverting DVD's is good enough for most people. This battle is obviously "not going anywhere for awhile" and the next format will be the winner.

I kinda' agree with you on that one. Truth be told, the majority of people in the country don't have HDTV's, and won't for a long, long time. And as long as manufacturers keep selling those shitty "HD TVs" that only have 720p as their highest resolution, real HD never will have a big saturation, 'cause the "average" buyer will get one of those to save money. And they won't have a clue that they're missing anything. They really have no use for either HD formats.

I just hate whoever said "I think we can build a competing format and win". I don't know if that was the bluray or HD camp (but I'm guessing HD), but either way I hate them. So I haven't bought a DVD in a while, because the HD stuff is out there, and I won't buy a HD-DVD or bluray until I know which one is gonna stay.

Fuck the industry.

I have money to spend (on one system). But now I don't spend much beyond a monthly blockbuster fee.

However I'll probably go PS3 when Metal Gear Solid is released.

Wait, so you're breaking the market for HD content into two categories: 1080 people and....everyone else?

Sure, I'd like a 1080p TV, but I got into HD back in 2004 when 1080 was bank and not used in any broadcasts. There are still lots and lots of people out there like me.

I gotta think the market for HD movie content breaks down like this: HDTV owners (including 720 people) and non-HDTV owners. And it's the non-HDTV owners slowing down the resolution of the format war, not people like me with 720. We spend just as much on HD content as everyone else, and if anything, encouraged the industry to continue on up the ladder to 1080 in the first place - not retarded it's growth somehow.

Thing is, most TV shows are in 720, not 1080(at least last time I looked). I'll probably get a 1080p when I bump up (got to get a house first!), but that's cause I'm a geek.

Yeah, I'll definitely get a PS3 when MGS comes out. SOCOM too.

No, I'm saying if the majority of the "normal" buyer doesn't buy a 1080 capable TV, then they aren't going to see any benefit to upgrading to a high-definition DVD player. An upconverting DVD player will look just fine to them on a 720p screen because they'll never know what they're missing. And the more of these 720p sets are sold as "HD-TV" screens, the less likely the average person is going to buy yet another TV in a couple years to upgrade again to the 1080 format. Most people don't like buying new TV's every couple years... Least not anybody I know.

Gotcha. I've seen the difference between upconverted DVD and 720 and I think it's pretty big.

What I have yet to really see is a 1080 signal compared side by side with a 720 signal with the same content running at the same time. Any time you see 1080 at Best Buy or Circuit City, it's always set aside on a bluray player that's playing it's own movie that's different from all the other TVs.

It depends on the size of the TV and the viewing distance. You won't notice a difference between smaller TV's, but you "could" see a difference on the larger TV's, 50" and up. I say "could" because most people like me probably still wouldn't be able to. It's like you have to have an eye out for it like musicians have for music. They hear crap that the average listener doesn't hear.

That's funny you should mention that. When I first got my tv earlier this year, I remember thinking why the heck isn't my set as clear as it was in the store??? Later on I figured it out... use an HDMI cable. It'll make all the difference in the world. At least mine did!

I can clearly see the difference between ESPNHD (720p signal) and DiscoveryHD (1080i signal). The 720p edges are not quite as crisp.

You may need to adjust your TV settings for 720P or to auto-adjust according to the signal. If it's set for 1080i (or p), 720P might not look as good as it's supposed to. Otherwise, 720P is better than 1080i so it should actually look better, especially for sports.

FYI, Office Depot has the Xbox 360 Premium with HDMI for $300 after $50mir

That sounds like a really good deal!

No, it's not. It scan refreshes faster, but the lines are not as crisp. I'd rather have crisper lines than fast refreshes, unless I'm watching an auto race.

Here you go:

http://editorials.teamxbox.com/xbox/1544/The-Facts-and-Fiction-of-1080p/p2/

For sports, 720p is better than 1080i which may be the reason you're seeing a difference between ESPN and Discovery as 1080i is probably excellent for scenary.

Thank you. You just posted an article that shows exactly what I already said...

From your article:

Here's the kicker... They just proved in their math that the 1080i shows more pixels per second, right after they qualify that it's the pixels per second that give better quality...

Granted it's only a "few" more, but it's still more.

Not to mention, they never said anything in that article about what the human eye can actually see. Please do a google search on that, and you'll find that there isn't a consensus as to how many "frames per second" the human eye can actually see.

The reality of it is, an interlaced 1080 picture will be clearer than a progressive 720 picture, because 1)the refresh rate of the interlaced is still faster than what the human eye can perceive, and 2)there are more pixels defining the same image, aka, crisper images.

The reason ESPN and ABC look so much worse is, there's just not as much information being displayed at any given time as it would have been if it were a 1080 picture. You can't make up for this missing information; refreshing the screen twice as fast isn't gonna' magically create better sharpness of the features. The only reason you can get away with using 720p for sports is, the edge sharpness is never there to begin with, because the camera and the focus of the action is constantly moving. So it's not clear that it isn't as sharp as the 1080 signal.

It's not that 720p is "better" for watching sports. It's "better" for the studio, 'cause ESPN can get away with the lower quality signal, lower quality cameras, and less bandwidth to deliver the signal, when the images are moving so quickly. However, when you watch Sportscenter, it looks like crap verses watching a football game. As soon as the background and things aren't moving, you finally realize you aren't seeing a sharp image anymore.

porsche996, I think we can debate the whole 720p vs. 1080i as much as we've debated the 360 vs. PS3 which has obviously gotten us no where. All I was saying is to check your TV and try putting it 720P mode for ESPN to see if that fixes the problem and makes it better since it's apparently being broadcasted in native 720P. It's worth a shot if you haven't already tried that.

Yup, it is a great deal. I previously stated that it wasn't the premium because it doesn't come with the DVD remote. I was wrong. I think I got a limited edition since mine had a remote, but none of the premium's or elite's comes with the remote after looking at the specs. I think I'm going to sell mine and keep the remote and upgrade to the HDMI and another 2 years worth of warranty.

Yep. We can debate it all day. No, I won't be touching the settings on my TV, though; it's already set to autoswitch. Not much more I can do.

I'll tell you, though. Watch a hockey game on ESPNHD (720p), then watch one on HDNet (1080i), and I promise you, you'll never sing the praises of 720p being "better" than 1080i for sports... Sure, the 720p looks a helluva' lot better than SD TV (as it should). And as long as you watch the 720p first, then the 1080i second, you don't notice a huge difference, if at all. But if you watch the 1080i first, then drop down to the 720p, you will be sadly dissappointed with the 720p picture quality.

Now, maybe it's the cable company compressing the signals differently, or the cable company's box interpreting & sending out the signals differently; I don't know. All I know is, it's hooked up to my TV through HDMI, the TV is "auto-switching", and ESPNHD looks like absolute crap compared to any channel that broadcasts in 1080i. And that goes for ABC as well; primetime on ABC looks significantly worse than primetime on CBS, Fox, and NBC, as Disney only broadcasts in the 720p setting, and the other networks use 1080i.

(And FYI: television and movie film are STILL shot in only 24 fps, so it really doesn't matter if the screen is being refreshed 60 times per second (progressive), or 30 times per second (interlaced), as BOTH are faster refresh rates than the source was captured in...)

:p

You know, I probably would have bought a 360 if it had a hd-dvd as original equipment. I know they were trying to rush things to get a jump on the competition but things would have been much different for me if they had waited a bit. Just think where HD-DVD would be now if they had waited. Instead of BR kicking butt and taking names, HD-DVD would be in the drivers seat. Just short sighted thinking IMO and so I feel they made the rest of the system like that. Poorly designed and rushed to market before it should have been. Maybe I'll pick one up later after the Xbots beta test it for me. They might work out the kinks by next Christmas.

Don't worry, xbox will have a new console sometime in 2009

Yeah. But that's only to replace the burned out Xbox360s... It's Microsoft's way of making sure you "upgrade" every so often. Just make sure the box is unreliable as hell, and people will HAVE to "upgrade" whether they want to or not.

Have you seen the latest sales trends? I'll admit a lot was tied to the Halo 3 launch, but M$ outsold Wii for the first time ever and Sony is a way distant 3rd place. M$ is posting profits for the fist time in their games division history while Sony is posting record losses in their games division. If Sony continues on their current sales trend, they might sell a couple dozen PS4s. Right now it seems all the PS3 is good for is folding@home.

Porche996, All you have posted is Sony fanboi shit in this thread. I'm not a particular fan of Microsoft, but there is nothing the PS3 offers me that I can't get for my Xbox 360. I came from PC gaming and realy like the Xbox 360 warts and all. The PS3 hasn't had the content (which matters more than anything) to lure me away from the Xbox.

More altruistic uses of the PS3...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7074547.stm

Sony wanted an altruistic program to try to demonstrate the computing power of their cell technology and they chose folding@home. Not a cool game or anything but I'm more than happy to help out when I'm not playing a game or watching a movie. I've been folding since June/July and nothing adverse to report at this time.

The article explains the distributive computing network and what folding@home does better than I could.

The PS3 is 1 million units behind (30%)where the 360 was at the same time last year in US sales. They've only sold 2.2 million consoles, Meanwhile Nintendo has sold 5.7 million, and the 360 has added nearly 5 million consoles in that the past year. ( US only numbers ).

The only way that the PS3 numbers can compare is if you include Japan, where they are still being crushed by Nintendo.

Unless the PS3 has a huge holiday surge the console is done in the US, It just won't be able to overtake the 360. I don't expect that to happen even with the price drops. I'd expect both the Wii and 360 to double up the PS3 numbers this season in the US. If Sony wants to become competitive in the US market they must outsell the 360 2 to 1 this holiday season, which I simply don't see happening.

The PS3 came in at too high of a price point, too late, and there have been no compelling exclusive titles for it in the US.

HD-DVD has hit the sub $100 player market as of today, and now Blu-ray is going to have to follow suit if they want to win that war. If sony wants to try to continue to sell Blu-Ray at a higher price because it's supposedly a superior product they'll lose there as well. The fact that you can get a dedicated player for under $100 seriously undermines any idea that the PS3 is an extreme value for it's Blu-ray capability.

If you want to argue that the PS3 is doing just fine by looking at world-wide numbers you're ignoring that the largest segment of the market is the US, and that's what drives the games most of us are buying and playing. Wii has done a great job on all fronts, and the 360 has done a great job in the US. The PS3 hasn't excelled in any market yet.

The 360 is more of a stop gap console. It will probably be replaced by 09-10. The PS3 is a "ten year" console. So when the 360 falls by the wayside and MS stops making games and supporting the 360 the PS3 will be on the ground running. I'm not so worried about the PS3 being first this Christmas season. It's next year I worry about. If they do poorly even though plenty of games will be on the shelves, that is when I would be concerned.

Nintendo is the kiddie pool of the gaming world and has been for a long time. They are selling lots of consoles but few games from what I hear. Games drive the industry. You give away razors to sell blades or so the saying goes.

M$ has had a good strategy so far. Draw first blood and hope too many consoles don't fail. They saw the preview of the PS3 and shit themselves. They knew they had to be first or be out of it again in this round. Lots of shortcuts were taken in the 360 which is the main issue I have with it. The 30% failure rate would attest to that. I'll wait for the next gen M$ to consider buying it. Hopefully that console will live up to being new generation rather than the Xbox 1.5 they came up with this time.

So the PS3 will still be going strong in 2015 and not replaced until 2017?

Ummm... I'll believe that when I see it.

They'll probably transition like they did with the PS, PS2 and now the PS3 near the last couple years of it's life cycle. Use the old console to help fund the new consoles growing pains. Just guessing here but that is what they did with the other transitions.

Some interesting facts:
PS1, released Dec 94, 102 million sold
PS2, March 00, 120 million sold
PS3, Nov 06, 5.5 Million sold

XBox, Nov 01, 24 million sold
xbox 360, Nov 05, 13 million sold

If the trend continues,
Next xbox due somewhere in 2009 (2 years or less from NOW)
Next PS due somewhere in 2012 (5 years+)

I think you'll see that won't be the case. Business 101. They are and always will be released close to each other. No way MS releases the next xbox without the PS4 right behind it (or vice versa), unless Sony has waived the white flag. Otherwise, one of them will have total control of the market. MS got late in the game with the Xbox. It was a good business decision to release the 360 before the PS3 and taking over the market. I expect release dates will return to normal now.

The next Xbox has been in preliminary development for over a year now.

Linky

I'm sure preliminary devo for the PS4 has started as well.

Linky

I'm sure MS started developing the next gen console as soon as the 360 was launched several years ago. That's how the industry works, you launch your new product and start working on the next product.

Same with the PS4. I expect there are a team of people somewhere working on what will go into that. Working with Hardware vendors etc. To determin what hardware advances they plan in the next couple of years and securing contracts with them.

Software folks developing the user front end etc. That kinda stuff takes a couple of years to develop.

When I worked for a Game developer we had PS2s for developing / testing software a year before they hit the streets. Firstly in the form of Emulation software running on a dedicated Macs supplied by Sony. Then early pre-production PS2 units several months before they went on sale anywhere.

Christmas 2009 I would imagine at least 1 of the 2 big guys are pushing for.

It'll be more interesting to see what Nintendo do next rather than Sony / MS to me. If Nintendo launched their PS3 / 360 Generation model in 2009 too, that would throw the cat among the pigeons.

I mean, it's probably fun as hell at a get together - kinda like Guitar Hero, but I just don't imagine myself being into all those kiddie games for very long.

I saw the Wii's version of baseball and it was ridiculous. It's a bunch of major leaguers, only portrayed as kids or bobbleheads or something. How any grown man could play a baseball game like that is beyond me, but hey - whatever floats your boat. Just stay away from the trick or treaters. That's all I ask.
jailbreak 2 buy jb2 dongle jb2 true blue